“And he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
O how we love these words!
Words that immediate remind us Catholics of the Eucharist, where week after week we know without doubt the Risen Lord in our midst in the breaking of the bread. Be it a good day or a bad day, whether the homily be inspiring or . . . not so much (shocking!! At Saint Miriam?!), whether the world around us in in perfect harmony or spiraling out of control, here at the Eucharist, the breaking of the bread, we know that Jesus Christ Risen from the dead is in our midst. He feeds us with his Resurrection life and whispers, “Peace be with you,” into our hearts.
This is so consoling for us. And it inspires us to persevere in the way of Jesus, no matter what—just as it did for those two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Think about it: Luke tells us there were two of them walking together. This means that they were part of the missionary disciples that Jesus had sent out two by two to prepare towns for his arrival. And, as Scripture scholars point out, they were walking toward Emmaus which means they were walking away from Jerusalem—the heart and soul of their mission. They were walking away from their mission, away from all the hopes and aspirations they had put in Jesus. Because Jesus was dead. And when he died, their hopes died too; their mission to announce and help bring about Jesus’ kingdom died too. It was all over.
And then Jesus appears! He—unrecognizable—teaches them that the Christ’s sufferings were not in vain, that the way of the Messiah, the way of transforming the world in the Love of the Kingdom is not in vain. Of course there is pain, resistance from those who don’t want any change in the status quo; there is suffering. But Love ultimately wins. Love is greater than suffering, pain, fear. Love is greater than evil. Love is greater than death. And they finally recognize the one speaking to them, the Christ, in the breaking of the bread.
How consoling for them. How inspiring. And how consoling for us. How inspiring. After all, we have put all our hope in Jesus—in his way and in his promise and in his Love-Stronger-than-Death. And yet there are times when we are tempted to walk away from Jerusalem. We can look at our unhinged world and think: what’s the point? Evil has the day—especially since those doing evil are invoking the name of God and the name of the Christ in the very doing of their evil: starting wars, exacerbating the situation of the poor and vulnerable, fomenting tension against the immigrant, the neighbor, the “different; using power to dominate instead of to cause good to flourish for all.
Yet even still, I can imagine the Christ coming into our midst and reminding us: “there was resistance for me; there will be resistance for you. There was suffering for me; there will be suffering for you. But keep on the path! And be sure to nourish yourself for the journey by regularly participating in the breaking of the bread. There you will know you are with me. There you will know I am with you: loving you, assuring you and continuing to send you out two by two to keep doing the work of the Kingdom—fully nourished with Love-Stronger-than-Death.
Peace and every good,
Father Liam